[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7852-S7853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING JOHN McCAIN

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, the other thing I would like to do this 
afternoon is to very briefly report to my colleagues and to 
constituents back home on some things which my predecessor, Senator 
McCain, was working on at the time of his untimely death and which his 
staff and I have continued to work on and, in several cases, have 
brought to successful conclusion. I want people to know about these 
items and what we have been able to accomplish.
  I first want to thank the members of his staff who wanted to stay in 
the service of the government and the State of Arizona and were willing 
to take a position in my office, as a result of which, we were able to 
really have a seamless transition from some of the things Senator 
McCain was working on and my ability to continue to do so.
  One of the first things of which I was aware but not really aware of 
the depth that he had taken it is a new relationship in the State of 
Arizona among the three pillars representing the defense establishment 
in our country and specifically in the State of Arizona. These are, 
first of all, our military installations--Arizona is blessed to have a 
lot of military installations; secondly, the defense industries--again, 
Arizona is the home to many important defense industries serving all of 
our branches of the military; and finally, the communities that support 
both of those elements of our establishment.
  As a result, I had the opportunity to meet throughout the State with 
the groups that Senator McCain had helped to nurture and to create--in 
particular, a group in Tucson and Southern Arizona, including Yuma, 
called the Southern Arizona Defense Alliance; in Flagstaff and Northern 
Arizona, the Northern Arizona Military Affairs Council; and in Central 
Arizona, Maricopa County and the Phoenix environs, the Mesa Industry 
and Defense Council.
  Meeting with the representatives of all three components of our 
military society and hearing about the successes they had in working 
with each other and in providing a real synergy that benefited them all 
just reminded me again of how important Senator McCain's leadership was 
to the State of Arizona and to our national security.
  I wanted to mention that today and to let everyone know that I will 
be passing on to my successor the advice that these councils continue 
to need to be supported and nurtured by the Senators from the State of 
Arizona, as well as the Members of the House of Representatives.
  A second thing that John McCain was involved in as part of his 
activities as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee was the 
creation--a couple years ago--in the Defense authorization bill of a 
national commission to advise the Secretary of Defense on the strategy 
for the United States and to report back to Congress--and specifically 
the Armed Services Committee--on their conclusions.
  This bill created the National Defense Strategy Commission, comprised 
of 12 members, 3 of whom were appointed by the chairman and the ranking 
member--each--of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House 
Armed Services Committee.
  I was privileged to have been appointed by Senator McCain to serve on 
that Commission, and I did for approximately a year. My service there 
ended as we finished our report. Before it was signed, while it was 
still being edited, he passed away, and I was appointed to serve in his 
stead. So I have had the unique opportunity to both help write the 
report and then be a member of the Armed Services Committee, on which 
he sat, to receive the report and to question the cochairmen of that 
Commission, Ambassador Eric Edelman and ADM Gary Roughead, Retired.
  I think the importance of this Commission report reflects what 
Senator McCain hoped to achieve, and that is a bipartisan consensus, a 
unanimous report which provides advice to the Secretary of Defense and 
will provide advice to both the House and the Senate.
  As I said, there has already been a hearing before the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, and I know the House

[[Page S7853]]

committee is going to invite members of the Commission to brief it as 
well.
  It is my hope that the recommendations of this bipartisan Commission 
will be followed by the Congress and by the President and the Secretary 
of Defense because I think they represent some very strong conclusions 
about what is necessary to enhance our national security.
  A third thing Senator McCain wanted to do as chairman of the Armed 
Services Committee was to hold a series of hearings or briefings before 
the committee that focused on the advances in technology that were 
having and can have an important impact on our national security--in 
many cases, on the kinds of things that we acquire in support of our 
military superiority, things like hypersonics and artificial 
intelligence, super-advanced computing, cyber technology, and the like.
  After speaking with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee now, Senator Inhofe, it is my understanding that he, in fact, 
has a plan to carry out this legacy of Senator McCain and hold a series 
of briefings early next year on all of these technological issues so 
that our Members will be better able to evaluate the kinds of things 
that will help our military have superiority in the future. I am happy 
to have had some small part to play in advancing that.
  There were a couple of other more specific things that Senator McCain 
didn't work on but which bear his name that I wanted to mention.
  One, I cosponsored and helped secure passage of S. 2827, which was a 
bill to reauthorize the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation 
at the University of Arizona. This was something that Senator McCain 
helped to create and to foster throughout his career. But I am also 
pleased to announce that this legislation names the foundation's 
environmental conflict resolution center after the late Senator John 
McCain. I am pleased to make that announcement here.
  There is one other item that we are continuing to try to accomplish 
in Senator McCain's name. We are not across the finish line yet, but we 
hope to get there. That is something called the 21st Century 
Conservation Service Corps Act, S. 1403. This bill carries the name of 
Senator McCain, and it was one of his favorite projects. It expands 
volunteerism in our national parks and public lands.
  I can tell you that while John McCain came to Arizona having lived in 
many other places of the world and in the United States, primarily as a 
result of his service in the Navy, he acquired a love for the State of 
Arizona which is unequalled among all of us who have been there for a 
very long time. He loved the beauty of the State, the ruggedness of it, 
the incredible variety in the flora and fauna. When I would visit John 
and Cindy's home in the Sedona area, I could always count on being 
taken on a hike around the perimeter of the property to show me all of 
the interesting things he had discovered over the last several months, 
including where the hawks live and where the owls live and where they 
found the rattlesnakes and all of the other things that pleased him to 
be a part of that environment.
  So we are hopeful that we can get this Service Corps Act passed, if 
not in the latter part of this session, at least perhaps early next 
year.
  I want my colleagues to know that although Senator McCain passed away 
in the early part of his Senate term, he was working on a lot of things 
that his staff and I wanted to continue to move forward, and I am just 
pleased we have been able to move these items forward and wanted my 
colleagues to appreciate that, as well as his friends and constituents 
in the State of Arizona.
  I thank my colleagues here who helped to make some of these things 
possible and urge that they continue to focus on the one item of 
unfinished business that can perhaps be accomplished next year.
  I conclude by thanking the Governor of the State of Arizona for 
appointing me to serve for part of the remainder of Senator McCain's 
term. It has been a great honor and privilege for me to again serve the 
people of the State of Arizona, particularly to succeed my friend and 
colleague John McCain.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am going to be here on another matter in 
a moment, but I wanted to add my thanks to the great work that Senator 
Kyl has done.
  I remember coming here as a freshman Senator in early 2009, and Jon 
Kyl was one of the people who was kind enough to take me in. We didn't 
always agree. I still remember a very famous battle over slots at 
National Airport. But Jon Kyl has always been someone I have enormous 
respect for. I think Senators on both sides of the aisle have respect 
for him, and we very much appreciate his willingness to come back into 
service, fulfilling part of the tenure of his dear friend, Senator 
McCain.
  I know enough about Jon Kyl to know that, shall I say, his livelihood 
prior to coming back into the Senate was quite good, and his 
willingness to give that up to serve Arizona and the country is a real 
tribute to the individual and the patriot he is. We will all miss him, 
and I wish him all the best going forward.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I want to add my thanks to my colleague from 
Arizona. I came to speak on something else, and I will say this: If 
there is one individual I have tried to emulate since the day I came to 
the U.S. Senate, it has been Jon Kyl. He represented Arizona well, but, 
more importantly, he represented the Kyl name well. Jon, I am grateful 
that you would come back for this short period. Godspeed as you leave.

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